FROZEN ROYALTY EXCLUSIVE: Did you know that, if not for one, critical decision back in 2011, Los Angeles Kings rookie sensation Tanner Pearson could easily still be toiling away in the minor leagues, getting limited ice time (and limited development) on the third or fourth line with the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League, and that he, and the Kings, might not have won the 2014 Stanley Cup Championship because of that? Indeed, that was very nearly the case. Part 1 of a two-part series.

LA Kings left wing Tanner Pearson, shown here celebrating the team’s 2014 Stanley Cup Championship with his family on the ice at Staples Center in Los Angeles on June 13, 2014.
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Photo: Gann Matsuda/FrozenRoyalty.net

EL SEGUNDO, CA — During the Los Angeles Kings’ remarkable 26-game run through the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs, culminating in their second Stanley Cup Championship in the last three seasons, rookie left wing Tanner Pearson seemed to come out of nowhere, scoring four goals and contributing eight assists for twelve points, while playing on a line with right wing Tyler Toffoli and center Jeff Carter to make up what became known as the “That 70’s Line.”

That line gave the Kings a whole new look up front, and, in particular, gave the Chicago Blackhawks fits during the 2014 Western Conference Final—they had no answer for them.

For his part, Pearson used speed that had not been seen from him prior to the post-season to get to loose pucks and set up his line mates time and time again. In the end, the result was becoming a Stanley Cup Champion at the age of 21, and in just his first season in the National Hockey League.

LA KINGS PROSPECT WATCH: Throughout the summer, Frozen Royalty will be taking a look at several of the Los Angeles Kings’ young prospects. In this installment the focus is on 2013 sixth round selection Zac Leslie. An audio interview with Leslie is also included.

EL SEGUNDO, CA — Back in June 2013, defenseman Zachary (Zac) Leslie was selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the sixth round (178th overall) of the 2013 National Hockey League Draft and about one week later, he found himself on the ice at the team’s 2013 Development Camp, facing several of the Kings’ older prospects, many of whom had experience at the American Hockey League level.

Going up against players with a lot more experience was quite the challenge.

LA KINGS PROSPECT WATCH: Throughout the summer, Frozen Royalty will be taking a look at several of the Los Angeles Kings’ young prospects. In this installment, the focus is on 2014 second round selection Roland McKeown. An audio interview with McKeown is also included.

LOS ANGELES — A little over two weeks has passed since the Los Angeles Kings hoisted the Stanley Cup for the second time in the last three seasons and while the team, the entire organization, and their fans continue to celebrate, the hard part of winning a championship has already hit the Kings front office…

…keeping the team that just won hockey’s Holy Grail together.

Days earlier, the Kings confirmed that they will not be able to sign veteran defenseman Willie Mitchell to a new contract due to salary cap constraints and with the cap for the 2014-15 season coming in at $69 million, about $2 million less than what most expected, teams like the Kings, who were already very close to the cap ceiling, are facing even greater challenges in terms of keeping their rosters intact.

With just $3.66 million of available cap space, the Kings do not have much wiggle room at all, and that fact is now reverberating in the minds of players throughout their system whose contracts expire on June 30, not just that of President/General Manager Dean Lombardi and his front office staff.

LOS ANGELES — Early on during the Los Angeles Kings’ 2013 Training Camp, there was more than just a murmur or two that rugged forward prospect Andy Andreoff had a legitimate chance to make the big club’s roster to start the 2013-14 National Hockey League season.

Despite that, the 22-year-old, 6-1, 217-pound native of Pickering, Ontario was assigned back to the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League in the second round of training camp cuts on September 21, 2013.

“There were a couple of rumors saying that I had a pretty good chance, but I guess they wanted the same team as last year, and [stay] with older, more experienced guys,” said Andreoff. “If there’s injuries, I’m sure I’ll get the call up, eventually. But so far, Manchester’s been playing really well, so I’m just taking that day-by-day.”

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